A CNN analyst called on Fox News host Tucker Carlson to reveal whether or not he has been vaccinated after using his platform to spread misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.
Medical analyst Dr Jonathan Reiner called Carlson a "saboteur" for his comments, saying he was "sick of his nonsense."
During the programme, host Jim Acosta introduced a clip of Carlson claiming that unless people "resist" they will be forced to get the vaccine.
“Tucker Carlson received blowback and rightly so over this anti-vaccine rhetoric he’s been engaging in,” he said. “I honestly don’t know what the hell he’s talking about, but is this part of the problem, in terms of getting people vaccinated?”
Thus far there has been no push for legislation making the vaccine mandatory.
“Yeah, so I think he’s really a saboteur,” Dr Reiner said. “That’s what I think of Tucker Carlson.”
He pointed out that Carlson often justifies his skepticism as him "just asking questions," but noted that the Fox News host never invites experts on to answer the questions he raises about the vaccines.
“Every night he has a million questions about this vaccine. Somehow, magically, he has no one on his show that can answer these questions — I’m willing to answer these questions,” Dr Reiner said.
He then challenged the host to tell his viewers about his own vaccination status.
“I have two questions for Tucker Carlson,” he said. “Number one, you have been vaccinated? Number two, why won’t you tell your audience whether you have been vaccinated? I am tired of his nonsense.”
Carlson questioned how many Americans had died from the coronavirus vaccine on his show, relying on data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which he claims shows more than 3,000 Americans have died from the vaccine.
However, the VAERS is an early warning system that relies on self-reported incidents, which are not verified accounts of adverse effects and do not necessarily represent actual deaths caused as a result of the virus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a source that Carlson routinely treats with scepticism – said that "reports to VAERS of death following vaccination do not necessarily mean the vaccine caused the death."
In other words, just because someone dies after taking the vaccine, it does not mean the vaccine is what killed them.
Even Fox News contributors pushed back on Carlson's insinuations.
Dr Nicole Saphier, who appears on Fox News as a medical expert, tweeted a response following the segment that did not directly address Carlson, but did reference his talking points.
"It's intriguing the people who claim Covid deaths were overinflated from concomitant illness are the same people who are saying people dying after the vaccine are dying from the vaccine and not because we vaccinated the most elderly, frail, sick individuals with short life spans," she wrote.
Another contributor, Jonah Goldberg, also tweeted a mocking response following Carlson's segment.
"FACT: Every single person who ever died blinked before they died. The vast majority — like 99% — blinked mere seconds before death. And yet, no one talks about this silent killer," he wrote.
https://news.yahoo.com/cnn-calls-tucker-carlson-reveal-205205564.html
All three Fox & Friends hosts have been vaccinated for COVID-19.
On Monday, they agreed they agreed getting vaccinated provided a sense of "relief."
Host Steve Doocy said people who haven't gotten the shot are ultimately the the ones "in peril."
As the hosts of Fox News' primetime opinion shows continue to push misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccine without revealing if they've gotten it, some of the network's morning hosts have taken a different tone.
All three hosts of "Fox & Friends" in recent days revealed they've been vaccinated.
Speaking about this on Monday, host Ainsley Earhardt said getting the vaccine provided her with a sense of relief.
"I will say there is so much freedom," Earhardt said. "I understand there are people that have vaccine residency but we all three are vaccinated and I tell you when I got it it was like OK..."
Chiming in, host Steve Doocy said, "A relief."
"Exactly," Earhardt replied, noting that it was now highly unlikely she would get COVID-19 and underscoring that the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing fatal cases of the virus.
Doocy added, "Right but it's the people who have not gotten the shot which, you know, ultimately they are the ones who are in peril."
Host Brian Kilmeade stressed that it was an individual choice to get the vaccine, but said Americans are "very fortunate" to have access to get the vaccines virtually anywhere in the country.
As Monday, 34% of the US was fully vaccinated, with more than 259 million doses administered, per a tracker from NPR. But despite widespread access to the vaccine and a growing body of evidence that it's safe and effective, polling has shown there's still a great deal of hesitancy about getting the shot among certain groups of Americans - particularly Republican voters.
https://news.yahoo.com/fox-friends-hosts-theyre-vaccinated-160911794.html
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